BME Soccer Wins First Playoff Game

March 18, 2011

BMES (Biomedical Engineering Soccer) garnered their first win of the season on Wednesday, March 16 at the most opportune time: their first playoff game. Lingering on the waiting list for a good part of the regular season, BMES was finally placed in the Men's Competitive division, where we were hard pressed to find a victory. Now, in the playoffs, BMES has been re-seeded in the Graduate/Faculty/Staff division, where they found success against The Isomers in a solid 5-2 win.

BMES's next game is on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:00 PM on Field 2 of the Southwest Fields. BME will face the undefeated division leaders, F.C. Crest.

In a "win or go home" scenario, BMES opened the score sheet right away, as Aditya Asokan scored the first of his four goals. The Isomers best attacking football came early in the game, forcing 5 saves in goal from Art Bautista, evening up the match a few minutes later. However, their optimism was short lived, as Aditya struck again almost immediately after the kickoff, giving BMES back the lead they would not relinquish the rest of the game. Aditya added two more strikes in the first half to complete his double-brace, increasing the BMES lead to 4-1. Meanwhile the defense, anchored by Matt Carstens and Simon D'Alton, repelled every attack mounted against the BMES goal.

Key mercenaries from the College of Medicine IDP have helped solidify the team. Strong midfield play by Fred Kweh denied any real threats to be assembled by The Isomers, while Simon D'Alton used his pace to keep the opposition's front line in check, with Wilton Williams' cutting runs to the flanks set up two of the five goals scored.

A comfortable lead going into the second half did not prompt complacency. BMES attacked the opposing goal with great regularity, generating barely missed chances by Eric Franca, Matt Carstens, Wilton Williams, and Matt Watts. The opposing goalkeeper was forced to make several spectacular saves just to keep the score line at 4-1. However, Captain Jamal Lewis capped BMES scoring with the fifth and final goal midway through the second half, putting the game out of reach for The Isomers. After the fifth goal The Isomers mounted a handful of attacks, only three of which resulted in shots, all of which were saved.

A late goal in they dying minutes by The Isomers on a BMES defensive miscue closed the gap to 3 goals, but that was the most the opposition were able to muster.